Mental-health center moves into new home

Wednesday

Apr 30, 2008 at 3:00 PM

HOUMA -- Terrebonne Mental Health Center employees and patients will finally have a little extra room when the clinic reopens in its new offices Monday.

The Mental Health Center will begin moving from its current offices at 106 Moss Lane Thursday and into its new space at 5599 La. 311. The office will share space with Early Childhood Support and Services, a state mental-health program that provides services to troubled children 5 and younger.

No interruption in services is expected. Officials say services will be provided throughout the move, and the new office is expected to be fully operational by Monday.

"We’re happy for our staff, who will be able to work in better conditions, and especially for our clients, who we can treat more comfortably," said Kent St. Germain, regional mental-health director.

The Moss Lane offices, former site of the state Department of Motor Vehicles, has provided a temporary home for the center since June 2004, when the original location on Legion Avenue had to be abandoned because of a mold infestation.

But at less than half the size, the Moss Lane space presented its own challenges for the 35 employees and 90 to 110 clients who pass through the clinic’s doors daily for treatment.

"The current location was too small," said Brooke Guidry, manager of the Terrebonne Mental Health Center. "We’ve had a lot of challenges to

overcome. We were already cramped, and the number of people we see here seems to increase every year."

The Terrebonne Mental Health Center is the only outpatient mental-health-care facilities of its kind in the parish, St. Germain said. Center staff offer psychiatric and social assessments, crisis management, group and individual therapy and medication management for the "most seriously ill" on an outpatient basis.

And with about 1,500 active cases, the clinic must be selective about any new clients it accepts.

"When someone walks in the door or calls for services, we have to do an assessment because resources are so thin," St. Germain said. "We have a great need for services here. Our greatest needs are for psychiatrists. There’s a huge shortage."

The center has no child psychiatrists, he added, and has been without one for some time.

"We’ve been running ads in national publications trying to recruit, but we haven’t had any success," he said.

The shuttering of some local psychiatric services is likely to blame for the overwhelming patient load, St. Germain said.

The only inpatient mental-health-care facilities in the region are Oschner St. Anne’s General Hospital in Raceland, with 10 beds; Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma, with 24 beds; and Teche Regional Medical Center in Morgan City, with 10 beds.

And most private inpatient facilities are closed, he added.

"Our population base is increasing post-Katrina and Rita," St. Germain added. "With the stress of the storms, quality of life has changed. People who were sick got sicker. Many people are dealing with anxiety and post-traumatic stress."

Guidry added that tough economic times could also be troubling some.

The center’s pending move may not be its last. The state has appropriated $900,000 to renovate the Legion Avenue building, money that would be used to "tear everything down … and rebuild," St. Germain said.

A construction contract has been signed, but plans are in limbo until a contractor is hired to remove hazardous materials, including asbestos, from the old building.

In the meantime, the Terrebonne Mental Health Center has a one-year lease on its new location and four six-month extension options if a longer stay proves necessary.

"We like this building," St. Germain said. "It’s bigger than the old building, and it has great parking. We’re ready to stay awhile."

The Terrebonne Mental Health Center is open from 8 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. weekdays and can be reached at 857-3615.

The mental-health crisis line is answered 24 hours a day. If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can call 1-800-535-3694.

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